Master of Public Administration

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) and the MPA with an emphasis in Health Services Administration (MPA/HSA) programs provide mid-career and aspiring professionals with an opportunity to obtain advanced managerial education applicable to a broad range of public sector, nonprofit, and health care organizations. The MPA program is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA).

Mission

We prepare
our graduates for public leadership by advancing a challenging curriculum while
pursuing complementary research and transforming learning into acts of consequence
to serve our communities, especially the most vulnerable among us.

Goals

Educate students
to be compassionate and effective leaders who humanely manage public
organizations.

Prepare students
to initiate and facilitate interactions between government, for-profit, and
nonprofit sectors to provide ethical and workable solutions to societal needs.

Create a
collaborative environment of excellence in instruction, research, and service.

Translate
research into effective practices and achievable, humane policies.

Prepare students
to determine, collect, and analyze the evidence appropriate and essential for implementing public
service strategies

Program Requirements for Students Starting in Fall 2015

The MPA curriculum is comprised of 38 credits, with 9 core courses of 4 units and 2 electives of 2 units.

Degree Requirements

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate
leadership behavior through application of organizational and managerial
theories.

Identify
effective leadership in practice.

Identify and
discuss the role of public leaders toward recognizing and instituting the
principles of democratic governance in public organizations and community-based
initiatives.

Identify and
describe differences between the vision, values, and goals of actors in the
public, nonprofit, and private sectors; discuss practical and ethical
implications of these differences for public leadership; and discuss disparate
impacts for the most vulnerable among us.

Demonstrate the
ability to correctly and effectively recognize changes in workforce and
community populations; determine appropriate communication modes and content.

Describe
superior performance of a diverse workforce and the contribution to this of
managerial action and institutional supports.

Assess and
modify public service, based on cultural competency and citizen feedback.

Identify
challenges and issues in the U.S. health care sector in specific areas of
policy, its contemporary legal framework and management; describe/develop
operational responses and managerial adaptations.

Determine,
collect, and articulate the interests of diverse voices of a community,
especially the most vulnerable among us.

Accurately
interpret and communicate analytic research and policy implications to stakeholders.

Demonstrate essential
analytic skills (qualitative and quantitative).

Develop and present
informed and balanced results.

Report findings
and interpret research in recognition of, and with respect for, diverse
cultural and historical perspectives; correctly identify limitations and
constraints; effectively communicate with elected officials, administrators,
issue advocates, and the population at large.